Houston-Area Residents Sue Engineering Firm Over Harvey Flooding

Hundreds of residents in Fort Bend County, Texas, have sued an engineering company alleging that it was negligent in the design of a stormwater management system for a community that flooded during Hurricane Harvey.

The lawsuit was filed recently against Costello Inc. for work the engineering firm did for a Levee Improvement District created more than a decade ago.

The district was designed to protect the Riverstone development from flooding by the Brazos River, but roughly a third of the 1,760 homes in the district flooded in the aftermath of Harvey.

The Houston Chronicle reports the firm was founded by former Houston city councilman Steve Costello, who now serves as Mayor Sylvester Turner’s so-called flood czar.

The engineering firm did not respond to interview requests and Costello declined comment. He divested from the firm in 2015.